Stalk Me
by cutiechibi
Summary: Updated! This story will no longer be updated. It may, however, become an original story in the future.
1. Teaser

_**Stalk. Me.**_

By: _Chibi_

Teaser

Accident.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry! I didn't mean it, honest!"

"It's all right. I'm sure it'll wash out."

"I should've been looking where I was going. Jeez, let me get you a napkin or something."

"No, really. I'll take care of it. You... seemed to be in a rush to go somewhere. You were running pretty fast."

"Oh... oh yeah! I need to go, but... I-I'm really sorry about your shirt. And your coffee..."

"It's all right. The coffee wasn't that good anyway."

Smile.

Caught. Fall.

"Well... I need to get going. Maybe we'll meet again, under better circumstances." Smile. More.

"I should hope so, for the sake of my shirts." Caught. Fall. More.

Smile. Again. "Bye bye!" Run.

Smirk.

* * *

"And I just plowed right into the guy! It was awful! He spilled his coffee all over his shirt."

"That sounds like something you'd do."

"Hey!" Pout.

"Well, at least you got to work on time I suppose."

"Shouldn't you be getting back to work too?"

"In a second."

Kiss. Embrace.

Watch.

Frown. Glare.

"See you after work?"

"Of course." Leave.

Watch.

Frown. Glare.

"Excuse me, sir? Can I help... you..." Recognition. Smile.

Caught. Fall. "It looks like we got to meet again after all." Smirk.

* * *

"Oi! I'm so tired! I can't wait to get some sleep!"

"Did you really work that hard?" Doubtful.

"Of course I did! I always do!"

"Well, too bad you're so overworked. I suppose we'll just be sleeping tonight."

Rethink. "Well... I'm not... that tired..."

Accident.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry! I didn't mean it, honest!"

"It's all... right..."

Recognition.

"Wow, again? Are you stalking me or something?"

Joke.

"Well, I suppose I am."

Joke?

"Well, I live here. So maybe you are."

"You do? Really? Isn't that something, I live here too. Well, as of now."

"Really? Oh, I guess that would explain the boxes. Speaking of which let me help you with those."

"Oh, it's all right."

"No no, I insist. I spilled your coffee earlier and made you drop all these books. If I don't help I might end up making you drop something else later."

"Well, all right if you insist."

Introductions.

"By the way, my name is Sasuke."

"And I'm Naruto."

"Oh... and... who is that?" Frown.

"Oh, that's Gaara. He's my boyfriend. So, he'll be your new neighbor too."

"Ah, I see. Well, nice to meet you too, Gaara."

"Ah. Likewise."

Smile?

Turn. Glare.

* * *

Whisper. Breathe. Pant. Whine.

Moan.

Listen.

Kiss. Nip. Lick. Taste.

Shiver.

Touch. Tease. Feel.

Shudder.

Watch.

Move. In. Out. More.

Listen.

Move. Whisper. Kiss. Move.

Listen.

Listen. Listen.

More.

Touch. Kiss. Shiver. Tease.

Taste. Feel.

Watch. Listen.

Naruto.

Listen. Naruto. Watch. Naruto. Listen Watch Naruto. "Naruto." Whisper. "Naruto." Kiss Nip Lick Taste. "Naruto." Touch Tease Feel. "Naruto." Move In Out More. "Naruto." Move Whisper Kiss Move. "Naruto." Touch Kiss Shiver Tease Taste Feel. "Naruto." Smirk. **Stalk**.

Naruto.

* * *

End. Teaser. 


	2. Tape Me

_**Stalk. Me.**_

By: _Chibi_

Author's notes: Thank you for the positive responses so far in this fic, especially since when I wrote the teaser I didn't know where this story was going. Now, I have _some _idea on what's going on. If the teaser was confusing then, honestly, I did what I intended to do. I wanted some confusion in that part since I wanted it to be kind of jumbled and not make sense at all (but if you understood it then that's o.k. too of course). Thanks for sticking with the story even if you were confused.

So just a few notes. This fic has both GaaNaru and SasuNaru. Those are the only two pairings I'm planning, but my plans always go straight to hell so we'll see. The SasuNaru is, in a way, one sided, but kinda happens at the same time (I think, I'm not actually sure) and it is the main focus of the fic. And I'm not sure if there will be anything past an R rating, but again, we'll see. If the teaser didn't hint at it before, this is an AU. With that said, I hope you enjoy it! It should start to make sense... I hope.

Warnings (for this chapter): Yaoi, exploring Naruto's body, kinda creepy Sasuke (or really creepy Sasuke, you pick).

**Tape. **

**Me.**

The air smelled of fresh sea breeze body wash and cucumber melon shampoo. Naruto's body urged him to roll over in fabric softened sheets that made his skin tingle in the memory of the previous evening. Naruto opened his eyes and said a silent prayer to whoever was listening: God bless the fishnet.

Gaara was standing in the mirror wearing a long sleeved fishnet shirt that showed teasing glimpses of the sandy cream of his skin. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black jeans that had been washed to a faded gray and Gaara's fingers were moving to wrap a third red belt around his hips. Naruto stretched in the bed, his eyes still watching Gaara get ready to start his day.

"You could get up and get dressed too." Gaara muttered, kneeling down to tie the laces of his black knee-high boots.

"Nope. I like doing this instead." Naruto smiled brightly at Gaara who responded with a simple flick of his middle finger. "Awwww, you're so mean in the morning!"

"That's because it should be illegal to be up this early." Gaara grabbed his eyeliner and began to trace the outside of his eyes in black. "But some of us have to be up to go to work."

"Gaara... it's almost noon."

"... whatever." Gaara set the pencil down and turned to look at Naruto." At least you only have to work part time, so you can sleep the day away."

"I also have classes, thank you very much." Naruto crossed his arms at his chest. "College is hard work, you know!"

"Speaking of which, didn't you have class a couple of hours ago?"

"Oh, it was just lecture." Naruto shrugged. "I can get the notes online."

"Oh yes, very responsible. _College is hard work _he says."

"For one, someone kept me up all night-"

"You didn't complain." Gaara smirked.

"I specifically remember saying _no no, stop it I have class in the morning you jerk!_"

"For one, you didn't say it. You were moaning it. For two, you didn't stop me when I knocked the, as you call it, _evil hell of Chemistry_, out of the bed. And it was you who took off your reading glasses _so they won't be smashed, now, let's do it, take me now, I love you_."

Naruto frowned at Gaara. "I did **not **say all of that!"

"Whatever." Gaara shrugged. "It's over and done with now. I just won't touch you ever again when you're doing homework."

"Fine." Naruto made a huge show of turning on his opposite side so he wouldn't have to look at Gaara anymore.

"Anyhow, you were making some point about missing class?" Gaara stepped into the bathroom, his voice echoing into the bedroom. He grabbed one of the bath towels and proceeded to roughly rub the white cotton into his hair in an attempt to dry it and perfect that wild, mess of red hair look.

"Oh yeah." Naruto sat up in the bed, pulling the sheets around his still naked body. He glanced down at the floor, which still served as a bed for his quote, unquote, _evil of hell Chemistry_. "I mean, it's not like I have to go to lecture, especially with the professor we have. He just reads the notes straight from what they say online, same examples, same words, same everything. I hate professors like that. If you're not going to show us anything new then I'll just learn on my own."

"Isn't that the class you're failing?"

"I'm not failing it, asshole! If you paid attention to what I did in school you'd know that."

"Too many things to remember with school." Gaara dropped the towel onto the ground and stepped back into the bedroom, sighing. "Equations this, sentence structure that, it's all rather boring actually."

"So why do you still ask me how my classes are going and things like that if it's all so boring?"

"Easy." Gaara sat in the bed next to Naruto. "Because those things involve you."

Naruto smiled softly and ducked his head down, his cheeks growing a bit warm. "Stop that." He giggled. "You sap."

"I, for one, am not a sap." Gaara brushed his fingers against Naruto's chin, urging him to raise his head. There was a meeting between blue and green, both sets of colors growing hazy from staring at each other for too long. "I only speak the truth." Gaara whispered.

"Uh huh." Naruto's voice was just as soft, light breaths of air leaving his parted lips as Gaara leaned in closer. "Is that what they're calling sappiness these days, love?"

"It's not sap." Gaara brushed his lips against Naruto's in a light breeze of a kiss.

"Yes it is." Naruto returned the favor by licking playfully at Gaara's lips, imitating a kiss an animal would give. Gaara made a soft sound that bordered on the edge of a growl before he nuzzled his head against Naruto's neck, nipping at the skin. "Sa-sap..." Naruto whispered, tilting his head back for Gaara.

"Say that again and I'll make you pay for it."

"Sap-ACK!" Naruto grabbed onto the sheet tightly when he felt Gaara trying to pull it away. "Stop stop! You have to go to work!"

"Screw work." Gaara tugged at the sheet more, his teeth grazing against Naruto's neck.

"Gaara... Gaara! Damnit, stop!" But Naruto was laughing the entire time. "I will not be the reason why you're late and why that damn manager of yours teases me when I come in!"

"Temari is harmless."

"Temari is **not **harmless! She's an evil, evil woman!"

"Just because she runs a store that sells fishnet and handcuffs and collars does not make her evil. I happen to work at that store, what does that make me?"

"You're evil too! Stop pulling at the sheet, I'm not giving you any right now go to work!"

"Fine." Gaara stopped pulling at the sheet. "I'll just have to leave the sheet on."

"What!" Naruto's eyes widened when he felt himself being pinned down to the bed by a fishnet wearing posterboy for sex. The type of sex that you only found in stores whose workers wore black lipstick and had piercings all around their ears, in their noses, and on their tongues. The type of sex that didn't blush at all about the word. It didn't limit it to just a bedroom or a house and took pride in the fact that it could make you scream and love a name so loudly that you'd swear it was your own.

Honestly, did he really care if Gaara was late for work? Technically it would be Gaara who got in trouble for it. He'd probably have to stay at the store longer and he'd probably have to hear another _your shift started twenty minutes ago _speech from Temari. Then she'd go on and on about the _responsibilities of an employee _and Gaara would just sigh, roll his eyes, and debate on getting another piercing to add to the five he already had in each ear. If Gaara was late to work it was his own fault, right? He was a big boy, he could decide for himself if he wanted to go through the trouble of taking off three belts, undoing his boots, getting out of his pants, and doing an encore performance of last night.

Why did Naruto have to try and stop him? Might as well do it, right? He was already naked anyway, and Gaara did have him pinned to the bed with that hypnotic tint in his eyes. And Naruto had to admit, at some point his leg didlift up and start to rub against Gaara's side. And he did look into Gaara's eyes with what he knew damn well were eyes that just whispered seductively into Gaara's ear _be late for work because remember, there's no clothes underneath this sheet. _

Gaara and Naruto smirked at each other. At least Gaara still went to work, right?

* * *

Clink. 

Sasuke looked up from where he was lying in his bed, reading one of the books he felt motivated enough to actually read instead of stack in the bookshelves with the others that managed to make it out of their brown box prisons. He had been unpacking ever since he woke up that morning and his body finally decided to remind him that there was a such thing as taking a break. He stared at the wall for a moment and frowned. Neighbors.

Clink. Clank clatter.

Giggle.

Sasuke sighed and went back to reading his book. Living next door to a couple was always interesting. There was the arguing couple, the one who screamed at each other over everything they could think of. The loud couple, the one who could never figure out that it was possible to talk in a tone of voice that wasn't trying to talk on a cell phone in the middle of a club. The deaf couple, the one who had to turn their television up to volume level sixty-four because for some reason they couldn't hear anything. And, of course...

Clink clank clatter.

Giggle. Moan

Thump. Thump.

... the sex couple. The one that couldn't exist in the same room without having sex in it. Sasuke lifted his head up and stared at the wall again, as if he could see what was happening on the other side of it.

Unzip. Slide. Toss.

The pants were gone. Naruto giggled. Smiled. They kissed. Naruto's arms moved around his neck, his fingers combed through his hair and urged him to deepen the kiss. He did, and as he did his hand moved over the sheet around Naruto's body.

Tug. Remove. Toss.

Naruto laid underneath him, stretched his body in an open invitation. His hand moved, began at Naruto's cheek and moved down. Fingers brushed against Naruto's neck and he closed his eyes, sighing, pleased. The hand moved lower, nails gently played over Naruto's chest, scratching there to make soft cries pass through Naruto's lips. His other hand moved with the first hand, fingers moving all over Naruto's body as if touching it for the first time. His breathing sped up, matching the pace of the drumming of his heart. His fingers shook.

Anticipation.

His hands caressed Naruto's legs as they slowly began to spread apart. And Naruto looked up at him, wild spikes of yellow laying flat against the pillow, eyes locked on him and waiting, lips parted and begging to be taken.

"Gaara..."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up, sitting and looking at the wall again.

"Gaara... gods..."

"Naruto..."

Sasuke moved out of his bed quickly, panting and frowning at the wall.

Squeak. Squeak.

The damn bed sounded like it had a bad case of the hiccups. Sasuke moved out of his bedroom and into the bathroom, standing in front of the sink and looking into the mirror. Dark eyes were clouded over, almost gray. His hands were shaking and he still couldn't control his breathing. He flipped the water on, ice cold. The sound refreshed him and blocked out the noises from next door. Sighing, Sasuke leaned down and cupped his hands around the water and splashed his face, one, two, three times, and scrubbed it down with hands and water. He took a deep breath and looked in the mirror again. His eyes were back to their normal shade, the front bangs of his hair dripping wetting. His hands weren't shaking as much, but still shaking enough for him to notice when he grabbed a towel to dry his face.

When he stepped back into the bedroom the bed next door still had the hiccups and didn't show any sign of finding a way to cure them. Sasuke walked over to his dresser and grabbed his Walkman. Cassette tapes were pretty out of style but there was one tape he had that would help him get through Gaara's decision to be late to work. Flopping down in the bed Sasuke slipped his headphones on over his head, grabbed his book, and smiled.

Push. Play.

* * *

"So if you need a ride to work later let me know." 

"Gaara... you don't have to use your lunch break to come and pick me up." Naruto zipped up the black jeans he had slipped on. He decided that it was best to wear clothes in the bedroom otherwise a certain someone would never get to work. "You could actually use it to eat something and I can find my own way to work." He pulled an orange tank top over his head and smiled as he watched Gaara get ready for work... again.

"Nonsense." Gaara slipped on the last of his belts and laced his boots. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't pick you up for work?"

"You just want to avoid having Temari's cooking."

"That too." Gaara rolled his eyes. "She always brings too much food for lunch and makes me eat some of it. I'd rather eat the crap at the mall."

"Why don't you tell her that?"

"You kidding? When I did she made me stock the shelves."

Naruto shrugged. "So?"

"The shelves in the back of the store."

"... oh." Naruto smirked. "What's the matter? Are you shy about things like that, Gaara?"

"Hell no." Gaara smirked back and wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist, holding him close. "Though you should've known the answer to that already."

"So what's the big deal about stocking shelves in that area?"

"Simple." Gaara cleared his throat. "_Excuse me sir, could you tell me where your... oh, wow, you're holding the exact thing I'm looking for. _Insert stupid grin from customer here. _Hey, you do know how those things work, right? _Insert me looking very tired of getting stupid pick up lines. _I could... show you after you... get off. _Insert him looking very proud of himself for the stupid pun, insert me wishing for an elephant to come through the store and trample over me to end my misery."

"Are you serious?" Naruto started to laugh. "That's almost as bad as the _oh, can you show me the... romance section _that I get at the bookstore."

Gaara frowned. "Who said that to you?"

"Um... anyway, you should be going to work now!" Naruto pushed Gaara out of the bedroom, pushing him towards the front door of the apartment.

"Who was it Naruto?"

"No one you know just some guy."

"We work at the same mall, I've probably seen him around. Does he come in often?"

"No... well kinda... it's not important!"

"Who was it?"

"Gaara, you are not going to do the whole possessive goth boyfriend thing again! You scared away that poor girl the last time you did it."

"What?" Gaara tried to look innocent as he opened the front door to leave. "All I did was pick you up from work."

"No." Naruto frowned. "You came into the store, grabbed me by the arm, glared at her and told her to die a slow and painful death by having sand stuffed in her mouth. Who the hell thinks of ways to die like that!"

"I dunno, I thought it was pretty creative."

Naruto sighed. "Go to work, Gaara."

"Yeah yeah, I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yeah." Naruto smiled. "Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"Love you."

Gaara gave Naruto a smile that was too small for anyone else to notice except for Naruto. One of the reasons why it was so special in the first place. "Love you, too." They kissed again, just a small meeting of lips that was soft enough to make both of their hearts move faster than usual.

Naruto stood by the door and watched Gaara leave, smiling even more when Gaara turned and waved to him before heading down the stairs. Once he was sure he was gone Naruto turned to head back into their apartment.

He stopped though when the door opened next door. "Oh, hey Sasuke." Naruto said in greeting. Sasuke glanced over at him and nodded before turning his attention back to his apartment. He had a box full of his pots and pans propped up against the door to keep it open, and in his hands was a video camera. Naruto watched him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Video taping my apartment, how it looks in the unpacking process."

"Oh? That's kinda cool." Naruto walked over so that he was standing next to Sasuke. He poked his head into the apartment and smiled. "It looks like it's going pretty well. Unpacking I mean."

"You think so?" Sasuke sighed. "I woke up this morning with the intention to finish, but I think I've lost motivation."

"You seriously thought you'd finish everything that fast?"

"Well... hey, a guy can dream right?"

"You know... I'd be willing to help you unpack."

"What?" Sasuke looked away from the video camera to look at Naruto. "Really?"

"Sure, why not? I don't have anything to do for another couple of hours until I call Gaara to pick me up for work."

"Work? And where is work?"

"Oh, just the bookstore in the mall. Part time." Naruto stepped into Sasuke's apartment and walked over to what appeared to be the living room area, at least it would be when the rest of his furniture got there. Sasuke stepped in with him and pushed the box away that was holding open his door with his foot, letting it close. Naruto sat down on the ground and pulled a box towards him, opening it up. Ah, the CD collection. "Where do you want these?"

"Oh, just against the wall until I find where my CD rack is." Sasuke continued to video tape around the apartment. "So, why is the job just part time?"

"Oh, I go to school too."

"High school?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh? Oh, no no no." Naruto laughed. "I'm in college, sophomore year. You know, that year of trying to decide what major you _really _want to go into. What made you say high school?"

"Oh, you just look so young, that's all. The marks on your face didn't help at all."

"Oh these?" Naruto pointed to his cheeks. "Stupid high school dare. It's a tattoo."

"Really?" At some point in the conversation the camera stopped paying attention to the apartment and started to tape Naruto. "They're rather interesting."

"Yeah. But, I've grown to like them. It hurt like hell though, but it just... looks right on me I guess."

"It certainly does." Sasuke muttered under his breath, but Naruto didn't catch what he said. "So, is Gaara in college too?"

"Nope, just me. He works at the mall. Check out your local goth fashion line store and you'll find him there. He stopped school at high school, he said if he had to spend another four years having old people tell him what to read and how to solve useless problems he'd jump off a bridge."

"He's not... the happiest person in the world, is he?"

"No." Naruto lowered his head, a shy little smile on his face. "But I love him anyway. We met in high school and he kept telling me that after graduation we'd move in together in whatever city I went to school in. And... here we are. He doesn't show it, but he can be really caring and sweet."

Sasuke frowned a bit, but when Naruto looked up at him the frown was gone. "It is pretty hard to see."

"I know, but... well... like now for instance. He works all the time to help me pay for school and to help pay for the apartment. I only took the job because I know... it's a lot to pay for, he couldn't do it alone. And his job is great but... it's not enough to pay for everything in the world. But he tries, you know? He didn't want me to work at all but I insisted. I wanted to help too... I know it's so expensive because of me but he doesn't mind at all." Naruto wasn't smiling as much. He sat there, staring down at the CD he was holding, clutching onto it as if it could bring his smile back.

Sasuke watched him quietly, letting the camera roll on.

* * *

"So he is just a sales clerk there?" Sasuke asked. 

**"Yeah." **

**Rewind.**

"I suppose if he got a promotion he'd be making more, and that would help you out a lot, right?" Sasuke asked.

**Play. **

**"Yeah."**

**Rewind.**

"Hmmm... maybe I should help him get that promotion. Then maybe you could focus more on your studies. Would you like that?" Sasuke asked, a small smile growing on his face.

**Play. **

**Naruto laughed.**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**"Yeah."**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**Naruto lowered his head, a shy smile on his face.**

**Pause.**

"Oh, but... then if he worked more he might not be able to pick you up for work..."

**Unpause. **

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**"I know... but... well..."**

**Pause.**

"It's o.k., Naruto." Sasuke's smile grew into a smirk. "I can take you to work. I can take you anywhere you want. Would you like that?"

**Unpause. **

**Rewind.**

**Play.**

**"Yeah."**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**... smile on his face.**

**Stop.**

Sasuke leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, sinking into the comfort of having the rest of the furniture delivered to him so he could enjoy his conversation. His fingers played over the remote control and he closed his eyes, taking a moment to think. Then he smiled. 

"So you go to school too, Naruto? How would you feel if I went to school too? It would mean that we could spend more time together."

**Play. **

**... smile on his face.**

**Pause.**

"But with Gaara working so much after his promotion, you'd see more of me than him. Is that o.k.?"

**... smile on his face. **

Sasuke smiled. "Careful, or else we might fall in..."

**Unpause. **

**Rewind.**

**Play.**

**"... love."**

**Pause.**

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Naruto? But... what about Gaara?"

**Unpause. **

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**"I know, but..."**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**"... it's not enough..."**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**"But he tries, you know?"**

**Fast forward.**

**Play.**

**Naruto wasn't smiling as much. He sat there, staring down at the CD he was holding, clutching onto it as if it could bring his smile back.**

**Stop.**

Sasuke stared at the blue screen of his T.V., watching it as if he expected something else to appear on the screen. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then grinned. 

"I know he tries, Naruto. But... I suppose it's not enough, is it?"

**Play. **

**Naruto wasn't smiling as much. He sat there, staring down at the CD he was holding, clutching onto it as if it could bring his smile back.**

**Play.**

**Play.**

**Play.**

**Play.**

**Play.**

* * *

Tape. Me. End. 


	3. Wild Cherry

_**Stalk. Me.**_

By: _Chibi_

Author's Notes: Again, thank you for the reviews. I'm so happy that people like this story so far. A lot of people think Sasuke is creepy, which was my intention. He is a stalker after all, right? Here's the next part, enjoy!

Warnings (for this chapter): Excessive use of bubblegum and Chemistry problems discussed (I cheated and went to my old professor's website where he had notes up).

**Wild.**

**Cherry.**

Gaara tried not to look bored. He tried to look interested in the world and all of its ongoings but all he could do was lean against the counter and stare at the ceiling, chewing on two squares of sour apple Bubbleyum. Once the gum was successfully made into a green apple goo he stuck his tongue into the mess and blew, a large sour haze escaping his lips.

"So, does this look good on me?" The woman asked. Gaara spared her a glance, his eyes moving over the leather encased curves that stretched over her body in the form of a cat suit. The bubble exploded and the air was momentarily filled with an overly sweet apple perfume.

"Yeah. Sure." Gaara muttered, chewing his gum again.

"Or would this be better?" She held up an outfit of similar fashion, only it was made completely out of fishnet, the back missing from it. Gaara looked at the outfit, then the woman, then back to the outfit. He shrugged and blew another bubble. "What shoes would I wear with it?" She asked. Gaara sucked his bubble back into his mouth and looked at the outfit again. For a brief moment he imagined Naruto in the long piece of fishnet and he smirked. It would wrap around the blond's body like a lover's arms and Gaara would kiss at Naruto naked back. His hands would move over the fishnet as if trying to press it against Naruto's body more. Gaara smirked more; now what kind of shoes would he make Naruto wear in such an outfit?

"Don't wear any." Gaara said to the woman. "It would look better without shoes." Then he stared up at the ceiling again and blew another bubble.

"Hey, yeah you're right!"

Gaara popped his bubble and licked his gum back into his mouth, his tongue and teeth playing over his bottom lip to peel off the extra film of gum that stuck there. He watched the woman step back into the dressing room to remove the leather cat suit in favor of fishnet. Gaara couldn't help but smirk. Someday, he would make fishnet take over the world.

"Yet another satisfied customer." Gaara glanced over to see his manager standing next to him, her arms crossed over the cotton pink halter-top that covered the fishnet shirt she was wearing. Temari. The only manager the store ever had that could go head to head with a personality like Gaara's. She was wearing a matching pink skirt that covered her ass when it felt like it and fishnet stockings that dipped into boots with a heel high enough to make her almost half a foot taller. Her hair probably could've looked like Naruto's had it not been in four wild ponytails. While she only wore one earring in each ear she proved to be made to work in the store with the emerald colored stud she had in her nose, the small silver hoop she had hocked into her bellybutton, and a tattoo of a large fan etched into her back which she said was her symbol for being as unpredictable as the wind.

Temari. Gaara smirked. He'd bet his life on the woman being related to him in a previous life.

"What can I say? It's what I'm here for." Gaara blew another bubble and frowned when Temari stuck one of her nails into it, purposely making it explode all over Gaara's face.

"And while you aren't being your spectacularly helpful self, do you mind at least looking busy?" Temari glanced at her watch. "The district manager is visiting today."

After removing the sticky mask of gum from his face Gaara began using the glob of Bubbleyum to pick off the little specs that were left on his face. "You mean you're actually going to keep me in the store while he's here? All the previous managers always found some way to get me as far away from his as possible."

"Yeah well, I trust you." She smirked. "And I know that Naruto is in class right now anyway."

"Ha ha." Gaara paused for a moment. "But you're right, he is in class. I do have to pick him up later so he can go to work."

"Of course." Temari looked up when the woman Gaara had been helping stepped out of the dressing room, back in her normal clothes and holding the fishnet outfit she was getting ready to purchase. Temari raised an eyebrow and couldn't help the grin that appeared on the face. Business suit. Woman who comes to stores like this during her lunch breaks and away from nosey colleagues and friends. Wears these outfits in the midnight hours only, behind the closed doors of her bedroom with her lover. "I can help you with that, ma'am." Temari walked over to the register to help the woman while Gaara sighed, leaning back against the counter.

He was bored again.

* * *

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto made his way down the steps of the lecture hall, squeezing in between two other students who were chatting about some party in some part of campus that was apparently _the biggest and the best party the campus had ever seen_. Sakura looked up from her Chemistry book and smiled, waving to Naruto when he sat down next to her.

"And who is this? Why, it's Uzumaki Naruto! He has finally returned to class after a week of being abducted by aliens!"

"Sakura-chan, now you know I have good reasons for why I can't make it to class."

"Of course you do." Sakura stared up at the ceiling and pushed a couple of stray strands of strawberry pink hair out of her eyes before she spoke again. "Let's see, last week it was Gaara's fault that one day, helping the new neighbor unpack the rest of his things the day after, a stomach ache from too much ramen the day after that, and Gaara again on Thursday. There's no class Friday so you didn't have to show up."

"All that stuff did happen, honest!" Naruto clasped his hands together, giving Sakura a tiny pout. "I would've come, really!"

"Uh huh." Sakura smiled. "Though I can't say I blame you, the entire week has been nothing but him going on and on about balancing equations."

"Word for word from the notes online?"

"Bingo." Sakura sighed. "I wouldn't come but then that would mean staying in my room with my oh so lovely roommate." She rolled her eyes and reached down for her bookbag, looking inside for the homework that was due. Naruto did the same. The only reason he would ever come to this lecture was to turn in homework.

"Still having problems with Ino I see."

"All she does is argue with me! Stupid Ino-pig!"

"Ah, the first signs of true love. Bickering." Naruto held up his bookbag to protect himself from the punch Sakura threw at him. "Hey, it's true! Gaara and I argued all the time!"

"You two _still _argue all the time." Sakura muttered.

"Yeah…" Naruto smiled, his eyes looking up at the ceiling in a far off haze. "… we also make up all the time too."

"I feel sorry for your new neighbor." Sakura began to look over her homework, having to be absolutely sure that each problem was done perfectly and with legible handwriting so the professor could read it. Naruto glanced over at her then quickly began to look over his own homework, a soft frown on his face. Formula for barium hydroxide? Ba… Ba(OH)… right? "Don't forget the two at the end of that formula." Sakura muttered.

Ah, of course! Naruto smiled brightly and corrected the problem. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"You know, from the looks of things…" she looked over his paper, tilting her head to the side. "… it looks like you're getting the hang of this stuff."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She leaned over and wrote in another number on a formula. "Besides remembering when some of the formulas have numbers at the end, I'd say you're doing pretty good."

"All right!" Naruto gave a nervous smile when some of the students turned to look at him. "What? I'm understanding chemistry, I'm allowed to be happy!" He turned and looked over at Sakura's paper then smiled, taking his pencil and erasing something off of her paper. "Sulfuric acid."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked as he wrote in the write answer. "Oh… yeah." She smiled and shook her head. "Keep this up and you're going to become a chemistry major."

"Ha! Never! Chemistry and I have an understanding. I do good enough to pass and it will leave me alone for the rest of my days."

Sakura laughed. She may had only known Naruto for a year but even so she knew that was a total Naruto response. He started to laugh too, her laughter brushing against his throat and coaxing the laughter out of him. Uzumaki Naruto. She smiled. A year ago he had been that boy who sat down next to her in class, wearing a smile that was eager to soak up any knowledge the professor would pass on. At the same time he was that boy who, if you couldn't keep his attention, he'd tune you out like a bad record and have a new song to listen to in his head. Maybe an assignment from another class, maybe an idea on what he would have for lunch, or maybe his boyfriend and seeing him once classes were over and he went to work at the mall.

What was it that brought Naruto into her life? Ah yes, the first day icebreaker. They had had a class together freshman year and they were sitting together, both with notebooks open and pens in hand. It was the first day of college, everyone was anxious to know just how the college game was played out. The teacher had surprised them all with the first assignment: turn to the person next to you and learn about them so you can share it with the class.

And she had turned and saw him, him who was staring at her with the cutest look of _what the hell did he just say? _Sakura tried to finish the assignment, but the minute Naruto opened his mouth and said, "This is so preschool," she just started laughing, which made him start laughing, and made the professor smile at the both of them thinking that his ingenious first day introductions idea had actually worked. Naruto and Sakura had spent the entire time talking to each other, _is this really college? These lame introductions? _And, _we haven't done that since middle school, he might as well give us nametags. _They had both been smart enough to get: name, year in school, major, and where are you from information before the professor had called an end to the exercise.

Ever since then they had been friends. The email and phone number exchange had actually been put to use instead of being forgotten at the bottom of a bookbag.

"Well, you better tell Chemistry that." Sakura said in between giggles. "It looks like it might actually like you since it's letting you understand it."

"Nope!" Naruto crossed his arms at his chest and turned his head away from his homework, squeezing his eyes shut.

Sakura laughed harder. "Na-Naruto! Stop that!" That was the problem with Naruto. Once he made you laugh he didn't make you **_stop _**laughing! It was around this time that Sakura began to notice that they were being stared at. It wasn't the first time, really. Her and Naruto always had something to laugh about and it tended to make people stare, as if they weren't allowed to find anything funny. However, this time it wasn't a group of people staring, it was just one.

A young man who looked to be around their age, maybe a year older but no more than that. He was standing over by the entrance into the lecture hall, watching the two of them. Or was he just watching Naruto? Sakura couldn't tell which it was but for some reason him staring gave her some kind of bad feeling. It was only for second, but something in those dark eyes chilled her spin. _Why are you laughing with him? _That stare seemed to say, no, demand from her. _You aren't supposed to be laughing with him, you aren't good enough to share his laugh. _And normally if someone stared like that for too long she'd be the first to call them out, ask if they needed something or if they had a problem. She certainly hadn't been that bold freshman year, but something about getting through that first year of college gave her a bit more courage.

At least... she thought it had.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "What's the matter?" Why had she stopped laughing all of the sudden?

"That boy..."

"Hm?" When Naruto turned to see who _that boy _was he felt his eyes widen from the surprised feeling that suddenly trickled down the back of his neck. "Sasuke?"

* * *

"Gaara?"

Gaara leaned back against the counter, staring at the ceiling with an almost depressed look on his face. It was gone, completely gone.

"Gaara."

Why couldn't it last any longer? Why did the good things always have to end so quickly?

"Gaara!"

"What!" Gaara turned to look at Temari, frowning at her. "What do you want?"

"Are you that upset that I made you spit out your gum?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Gaara glanced down at the little green garbage can behind the counter. Green. His gum had been green. Still full of flavor that he could still taste on his tongue, still ready to blow up into several sour green bubbles that echoed around the store with it's fragrance and loud crack. Gaara sighed. Now he'd have to waste another piece when his shift was over. And wasting a piece meant that he'd have to buy another pack when he ran out, which meant wasting the precious change that had settled at the bottom of his pants pocket. I mean, what if he needed that change? What if he bought a new shirt or something that was fifteen dollars and _fifty _cents? Where would the fifty cents come from since it would be donated to the cause of getting him more gum? He sighed and stared up at the ceiling again. "You had no reason to make me spit out that gum. It didn't do anything to you."

"Gaara. You are not chewing gum while our district manager is here."

"That's unfair." Gaara glanced over at Temari. "What if he walks in here chewing gum too? What if he believes in a world where everyone chews gum? Then I'd feel left out. We wouldn't have anything to connect to."

"Gaara! He won't walk in here chewing gum. He is a professional businessman."

"That's a little judgmental, don't you think? Who are you to assume that businessmen don't like chewing gum?"

"That's good, Gaara. Real good." She suddenly smirked at him. "I think that type of logical thinking is perfect for putting out some... things... onto the sales floor."

Gaara winced. "Temari..."

"No, really!" She kept smirking. "When someone comes up to you asking if you know how to use the products they can say _well, how do you not know how to use them, you work here it's only logical. _And with the way you think you'd come up with the perfect response and save yourself from the flirtatious hell that is overly horny customers."

"But... overly horny customers are an entirely different breed..."

"I know." Temari crossed her arms at her chest, damn, she was **_still _**smirking. "So you better get to work, maybe you'll finish before they come in here." Gaara sighed and headed to the back but stopped when he heard Temari speaking to him again. "Just so you know, we got a brand new shipment of handcuffs that need to be put out onto the sales floor."

"Bitch..." Gaara muttered.

"What was that? Did you want to put out the sex dice too? And the massage oils, edible underwear, dild-"

"No!" Gaara turned and forced out a smile. "I was just saying how happy I am to be a part of this wonderful organization you run." Then he turned and walked away to grab some boxes. Once Temari was out of earshot he sighed. "Bitch." He muttered again. "This wouldn't have happened if she would've just let me have my gum."

* * *

"So, he's your new neighbor?" Sakura asked. Her and Naruto stood together outside of the lecture hall, waiting for Sasuke to come back. He had been nice enough to turn in their homework papers for them since he had to talk to the professor about getting the class added.

Naruto glanced back at the door for a moment before he looked back at Sakura, nodding his head. "He moved in about a week ago. I didn't know he was going to be going to school here."

"Because if you would've known you would've told me so I'd be ready to see a nice looking guy like that, right?"

"Huh? Oh Sakura-chan, how could you cheat on Ino!" Naruto quickly ducked away from Sakura who tried to punch him for that comment. He smiled brightly, laughing a bit. "It was a joke!"

"It better had been." Sakura muttered, crossing her arms at her chest. "Anyway, what's the story on this guy?"

"Oh, you know... I really don't know."

"What! You helped the guy move in and you didn't talk with him at all?"

"Yeah I did! But... it seemed like I was mostly talking about myself..."

Sakura blinked a bit at that, looking confused. "You're not really the type to go on and on about yourself..."

"I know, but he kept asking..."

"Really?" Sakura frowned a bit. She had remembered that look Sasuke had been giving her when she saw him in the classroom. She remembered how he had approached them. _Sasuke. _Naruto had said. _This is my friend, Sakura, but I call her Sakura-chan. _And he had looked at her in the way a boyfriend looks at one of his lover's friends. It was that _oh_ _great, I have to deal with this person so I don't end up sleeping on the couch, so I'll just smile and nod _lookShe wasn't expecting him to instantly like her but those eyes of his and the way they totally dismissed her... that was a bit much. He didn't have to like her, but something about the way he looked at her... he didn't even know her and here he was looking at her like she was worse than the mud you accidentally stepped in on a rainy day.

But he didn't look at Naruto like that. Those harsh eyes almost seemed to... was adore the right word?

"Sakura?" Naruto waved a hand in front of her face. "Hey, stop fantasizing about Sasuke."

"Who's fantasizing about me?" Naruto and Sakura turned to see Sasuke standing behind them, an amused look on his face. "Gaara would be pretty upset if he knew that, Naruto."

"Wh-what! Oh no, it wasn't me! It was Sakura-chan! She was doing the fantasizing!"

Sasuke glanced over at Sakura and for a moment she could see disappointment in his eyes. He wasn't joking about what he just said, was he? He wanted Naruto to be... Sakura mentally slapped herself across the face. That was silly, absolutely ridiculous... right? "Oh." Sasuke muttered, breaking her out of her thoughts. "So it was you?"

"No!" Sakura playfully tugged at Naruto's ear. "He was joking! I wasn't doing that!"

"Yes you were!" Naruto giggled. "Yes you were yes you were!"

"Was not!" She shouted back.

"Was too! It had to be you, I have no reason to think of anyone else in such a way except for Gaara."

She knew she wasn't seeing things. That was definitely a glare on Sasuke's face. What was with this guy? "Anyway…" Sakura glanced down at her watch. "… I should get going. I'm done for the day so I, unfortunately, get to go home and take a nap."

"You suck." Naruto muttered. "You know, some of us have jobs to get to."

"Job? Oh! You mean the, 'Calling my hot boyfriend to come and pick me up so we can mess around in the car, then going to work and having him come visit me so we can mess around in the backroom, then meeting him for my break so we can mess around in the food court hallway?'"

Naruto was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then he smiled brightly and nodded his head. "Pretty much."

"You're hopeless." Sakura muttered.

"And you're jealous." Naruto said sweetly as he pulled out his cell phone to call Gaara.

"… I hate you." Sakura said just as sweetly before she turned and walked away, waving to both Naruto and Sasuke before she disappeared amongst the crowd of students moving around the campus.

Naruto just smiled and waved back to her before he turned his attention back to his cell phone. Before he could call Sasuke grabbed his hand, stopping him. "What?"

"Is it really o.k. for you to pull him away from work like this?"

"Oh, he doesn't mind." Naruto smiled. "Sakura-chan was right in what she was talking about. He's probably staring at his cell phone going _ring, damn you ring!_" The thought made Naruto laugh quietly to himself. An image of an extremely bored Gaara appeared in his head, smacking on his bubblegum and having a staring contest with his cell phone. "Besides, he just tells Temari," Naruto cleared his throat, making his voice a bit lower and more bored to the world, "_consider this my lunch break. Bye._"

"So… when does he eat?"

"Eat?" Naruto scratched the back of his head as if eating were a new concept for his boyfriend. "Gaara calls the food at the mall crap. Then Temari's cooking is worse then the food at the mall. So instead, he comes to get me and we make use of the large back seat in his car."

"Oh." Sasuke managed to swallow away the large frown that was forming. "It just seems like a waste of his time."

"Sex is never a waste…"

"That's not what I meant." Sasuke sighed a bit. "I just meant that, well, I'm going to the mall right now so I could drop you off."

"Oh. Well that makes sense." Naruto smiled. "Let me call and tell him."

* * *

"Ring." Gaara muttered, staring down at his cell phone. "Ring, damn you, ring."

"You can't leave today." Temari said. "Remember? District manager?"

Gaara ignored her. "Ring." He muttered, staring down at his cell phone. "Ring, damn you, ring."

"Gaara." Temari reached over and grabbed his cell phone, frowning sadly. "I regret to inform you that your cell phone has yet to ring. I'm sorry for the shocking news."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "You're skills in sarcasm amaze me."

"Thank you. So, you did hear what I said right? That you can't leave to pick him up today?"

Gaara proceeded to look at his phone, took a deep breath, and then spoke again. "Ring. Ring, damn you-"

"All right! Stop that already!"

"I can't stop."

"Why?"

"Because, with my, 'omg teh awesome111,' powers I will make the phone ring."

Temari rolled her eyes and groaned. "Don't you ever talk that way again. You know I hate that."

"I know." Gaara said with an overly sweet smile.

"You know," She said, looking like she was in deep thought, "I knew a girl who chatted with me like that all the time."

"Really? I thought it was that guy you knew. The one with the tongue ring."

"Nope. It was a girl and she had a nipple ring." At this Temari smirked. "That ring was quite interest-"

"RING!" Gaara shouted, glaring at the phone. "For heaven's sake, ring!" If there was anything worse than Temari's cooking it was her… stories. Not because of what happened, but because of how detailed she got. And… who cared about anyone else's stories if Naruto wasn't in them?

"Maybe Naruto is busy with… another man."

"That can't be possible." Gaara suddenly grinned, a sadistic little grin that made Temari take a small step back. "Naruto is surrounded by my _I belong to Gaara and if you touch me you're going to be engulfed in burning hot sand like a coffin and crushed_ waves."

"What's with your fascination with sand?"

Gaara shrugged, about to answer but the phone had finally decided to ring. Gaara reached for it but Temari ducked away, answering. "Hey baby." She purred out. "What are you wearing?"

"Temari…" Gaara said in a low, warning tone of voice. On the other end Naruto laughed as he began to slowly describe the outfit he was wearing.

"Oh really? That sounds hot." Temari licked her lips. "Are you thinking about me right now?"

"Te… ma… ri…" Gaara gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowed. "Give me the phone."

"I'm sorry, Naruto. Gaara can't come to the phone right now. He's preparing for our visit from the district manager." Temari smirked and Gaara sighed in defeat. He could already hear Naruto's response in his head. _District manager? That sounds important. _"Yes." Temari said. "It is important. So he needs to be here for the visit." _Oh, of course he does. I understand. _"Thank you for understanding, Naruto."

"All right, so I'm stuck here. Can you at least ask him how he's getting to work?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that is importa--what? Oh." Temari looked over at Gaara. "Some guy named Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Gaara blinked. "The neighbor?"

"Apparently."

"He goes to school there?"

"Naruto says, 'He's in my Chemistry class, he just transferred here.'"

"Oh." Gaara rested his elbows on the counter, propping his chin with his hands. That was pretty convenient. The neighbor just so happened to suddenly go to the same school and was in the same class? Gaara sighed to himself. Temari would call him jealous for thinking that way. Damn her. So what if he was jealous. Gaara let his eyes wander around the store while Temari continued to talk to Naruto. He was bored again and the last thing he needed was jealous thoughts to cure him of his boredom.

He blinked when he let his eyes move over to the entrance of the store. Then he smirked and straightened himself out. "Hello, sir. Welcome to our store." Then he looked over at Temari. "This is our manager."

Temari blinked and slowly turned around, her eyes widening when she saw the most out of place looking man enter the store. Business suit. Notebook. Glasses.

District manager.

"Yes, yes we are hiring right now." Temari stammered into the phone. "Just come into the store and fill out an application. Thank you." She clicked the phone off and set it down on the counter. "Good afternoon! You must be the district manager."

"Your store phone is a cell phone?" He asked, a disapproving look on his face.

"Um… o-our…"

"… store phone isn't working. We need to talk to the phone company." Gaara let the lie slip easily from his lips. "So? Want to take a look around?" The man nodded, walking past the two to look around the store. Gaara smiled sweetly at Temari who gave him a murderous look. "You're welcome, by the way." Gaara said. "For me saving your ass."

* * *

Open the car door. It was a simple gesture really but for some reason it always made people smile and say their thanks when someone opened the door for them.

Sasuke opened the car door for Naruto. He was given a smile and a thank you in return for his kindness.

Before starting the car tell your passenger to fasten his seatbelt. Three little words that could be taken two ways: you care for the person's safety or you don't want to get a ticket.

"Fasten your seatbelt." Make your voice a bit warmer, more welcoming than usual. Naruto smiled and nodded his head, slipping his seatbelt on.

"Didn't know you cared so much." Success. The response Sasuke had been looking for.

Start the car. Warn your passenger of your driving skills. "I tend to move pretty fast." Be thankful that your passenger doesn't read more into that statement.

"That's o.k." Naruto leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "I've been well trained in how to handle fast drivers. Gaara drives like he was a race car driver in a previous life."

"Oh." Disappointment. Did he have to put Gaara into every sentence? Gaara Gaara Gaara. Was it the only word he spoke? Grip onto the steering wheel. Be thankful that your passenger has his eyes closed or he'd notice your death grip on the wheel and your aggressive turn of the keys to start the car.

Drive. Drive fast. "O.K." Naruto muttered as he opened his eyes and looked over at Sasuke. "Maybe you drive a bit faster than Gaara, jeez!"

Sasuke smirked. Damn right he did. He was not Gaara.

Not. Gaara.

* * *

The dangers of having a mall in between a college campus and a big city. The parking lot was nothing but a big tease. There was nowhere to park, ever. If you wanted to park in a reasonable spot you had to stalk a person to their car and just sit and wait, wait until they put their bags in the trunk, wait until they balanced the cup of lemonade and cinnamon sugar pretzel, wait until they maneuvered each bouncy kid into the backseat and strapped them in with seatbelts the kids didn't want to wear. Then you had to wait for the person to get in the car, stop kid one from making faces at kid two while kid two tried to eat ice cream. Had to wait for the person to stop kid one from pouting because kid two still had ice cream and kid one had wolfed it down in the toy store. Then had to wait for the person to start the car and slowly pull out, turning on the radio to some kiddy station that made both kids scream and sing along.

There was no hope of finding a seat in the food court if you wanted to eat. You always had to walk around the people who insisted on strolling along and blocking everyone's way. You had to feel sorry for the people who worked there, dealing with questions they weren't trained to answer. How should I know if that shirt would look good on your husband when he isn't even here to try it on? I have no idea if that race car game is better then the previous one, read the back of the box.

Fortunately for Gaara and Naruto, they had the best jobs to have in the mall. Naruto loved the bookstore because the people who came in already knew what book they wanted. Or they would grab a book and sit there, reading the first few pages to see if they were interested at all. And Gaara…

"Does this collar look good around my neck?"

Gaara glanced over at the girl standing behind him, a rather large black collar wrapped around her neck. Gaara sighed a bit. "It looks like you're choking."

"Gaara!" Temari hissed out at him. "Don't you think you should be a little nicer to the customer?" Then she whispered into his ear. "Especially when our district manager is standing right behind us?"

Gaara shrugged. "I'm only telling the truth." He looked back at the girl. "You look like you're choking to death."

"Honesty." The district manager said from behind them. "I like that."

Gaara smirked and Temari glared at him. Meanwhile the girl unlatched the collar, rubbing her neck in a bit of pain. He had been right. It had definitely been too tight.

"Well, this has been a rather interesting store visit." The man said, nodding to Temari and Gaara.

"Interesting good? Or interesting bad?"

"Good." The man smiled at Temari who sighed in relief. "However, there is one thing I would do differently."

"Oh? Name it, sir, and I will get right to work on it."

"I would make this young man assistant manager." He said, nodding to Gaara.

The devil shivered, for hell had just frozen over.

"You… would what?" It amazed Temari that she was still able to speak. It amazed Gaara that pigs could really fly.

"He's perfect for this store, is he not? I think he could be more than just a sales clerk. He practically helps you run the place, right?"

"Well… I mean…" He pretty much did, didn't he? Despite the fuck off attitude and obvious boredom with anything non-Naruto related… well… that was the perfect attitude for the store, right? "I… I suppose you're right, sir."

The devil sneezed. Hell had just gotten even colder. Arctic blast. Soon polar bears and penguins would enter the scene doing ballet. Had Temari just agreed to this? Had she really just said that he, Gaara, was good enough to be assistant manager? That was it. Screw ballet, those penguins were break-dancing.

"Well then, I suppose I should say congratulations."

"Huh?" Gaara blinked, looking up at the man. Congratulations on what? Oh right… they were still insisting that he was about to be promoted. "Oh, yeah, whatever."

Temari rolled her eyes and walked with the district manager to the door. As they walked over Naruto made his way into the store with Sasuke, the two of them finally making it to the store through the mall crowd. Was the mall really that much of a fascinating place? How was it possible to just wander around a mall and not actually _do _anything there?

The store Gaara worked at was that store every mall had, the one furthest away from all the stores with welcoming bright lights and displays of women in nonexistent sizes. How could zero be a size? No, this was the store with dimmed lights, with music you wouldn't hear in an elevator or from teenage heartthrob number two hundred and sixty seven. The store that only the bravest wandered into or kids who were trying to rebel but couldn't make it past the knee-high boots with so many shoelaces that their fingers got tangled in them.

"He's in the back, staring off into space because he just got promoted." Temari said, walking out with the district manager.

"Oh o.k." Then Naruto blinked, the sentence registering fully in his head. "Wait… what!" Temari chuckled softly while she left, watching Naruto rush to the back of the store to talk to Gaara. She nodded to Sasuke who nodded back to her in greeting, hands shoved in his pockets as he looked around the store. Hn. So was this the type of guy Naruto went for? It wasn't really his style, the whole fishnet dark make up around the eyes that Gaara had going. Sasuke stepped into the store more, taking a moment to glance up at the man who walked out with Temari. The man looked back at him, the two of them looking at each other for a moment.

Quickly. Barely even noticeable.

Sasuke brushed his fingers against a pair of dark jeans, belts wrapped around the back part to surround a person's ass. He rose an eyebrow at the pants then took them down from the rack, looking them over.

"Those are cool." Naruto said from behind him, Gaara standing by his side, still muttering about polar bears doing the limbo while the devil salsa danced and sipped martinis with a penguin. "Are you gonna buy them?"

"I'm not sure. I usually don't wear stuff like this."

"Well, you should." Temari stepped back into the store, her eyes looking over the pants then over the lower half of Sasuke's body, painting herself a perfect image of him in those pants. "They would be hot on you."

"You think so?" But he wasn't asking her. He was looking right at Naruto when he said it.

"Yeah." Naruto smiled. "They're perfect for you." Naruto was one of those shoppers who could compliment you without it meaning anything… and meaning everything… depending on the person's interpretation.

"But this type of stuff is what he wears." Sasuke said, looking over at Gaara.

"Well… not really. Gaara is the oh so complicated fishnet goth boy. That's different." Naruto said with a knowing look.

Different. Different look. Not Gaara. Different look that Naruto liked.

Sounded like a plan.

"In other news." Temari sighed, looking over at Gaara. "It looks like I need a new bubblegum chewing bored with the world sales clerk."

"Oh, so he won't be doing that at all anymore?" Naruto asked.

"Well, he can. But not as much. He'll be around me more doing the whole manager thing."

"Around you more?" Gaara seemed to snap out of whatever icicle hell vision he had been having.

"That's right." Temari smirked. "And you can start by putting up the "Help Wanted" sign in the window." Naruto chuckled softly then promptly stopped when he saw the look on Gaara's face.

"I'm sorry, love. It was funny."

"No it wasn't." Gaara muttered.

"Yes it was." Naruto smiled. "You looked like you saw a ghost."

"More like a zombie. With one of its eyes slipping out of its socket, leg bent backwards and dragging across the ground. Flesh rotted, a large chunk of its arm missing as it comes closer to you, arms stretched out in hunger and a need to bit--"

"Gaara!" Temari screamed. "Stop that! Gods Naruto, how can you stand this guy?"

"I ask myself that everyday." Naruto muttered, then he squeaked when Gaara wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close as he grazed his teeth across his neck. "Stop that, you evil zombie stop it!"

"Mmmmm, Naruto."

"Gaara!" Naruto smiled brightly, laughing. "I said stop!"

Smack.

Everyone turned to see Sasuke leaning back against the counter, his arms crossed at his chest as he watched them.

Smack. Pop.

He was wearing the pants he had grabbed, the pants having a much appreciated tight fit, looking like a fresh coat of paint on skin instead of clothing.

Smack. Smack. Pop.

Bored look. The world was a pointless place indeed. Nothing was important. Except Naruto.

Naruto.

"So," Sasuke looked up at Temari, smirking, "Do you prefer sour apple or wild cherry bubblegum?"

"Well… Gaara had a thing for sour apple."

Good. Wild cherry it was.

Smack.

Smack.

**Pop.**

* * *

Wild. Cherry. End. 


End file.
